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Lot Essay
This banqueting-table garniture celebrates ancient virtue and was believed to depict Theseus, the mythical hero of Athens. Theseus, according to Ovid's Metamorphoses or Loves of the Gods, returned from his voyages to Athens, but was then sent to fight a wild bull that was ravaging the Marathon plain. A banquet was held to celebrate his success in slaying the bull. However, the mythological identification given in the Sussex sale of 1843 warrants some debate - as the group appears to directly derive from a Meissen model of Hercules and the Bull modelled by J. J. Kandler and F. E. Meyer. It depicts the hero wrestling the river god Achelous. Deianeira, the daughter of the river god Oeneus, had two suitors Hercules and Achelous. Achelous could change form into a serpent and a bull; Hercules was able to snap off one of the bull's horns and subsequently took Deianeira as his wife. This series of events, which eventually led to Hercules's death, is related by Sophocles in 'The Women of Trachis' and was retold by, among others, Ovid. For an illustration of the Meissen group and a discussion about it's derivation from Italian maiolica see Giuseppe Liverani, Maiolica e Porcellana in 250 Jahre Meissner Porzellan published by the Keramikfreunde der Schweiz, April 1960, pp. 67-70, figs. 218 and 219.
The technique of electro-metallurgy was patented by Messrs. Elkington and Co. around 1840, although the technique had been in existence for non-industrial production well before that. In view of the Duke of Sussex's prominent role at the forefront of scientific development at the Royal Society, it is certainly possible that this centrepiece, in what appears to be a zinc alloy, may be an early example of the new technique. Certainly, in the 1843 sale Byng was faced with considerable opposition and the price was extremely high.
THE DUKE OF SUSSEX
Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, 6th son of King George III and Queen Charlotte, was born at Buckingham Palace on 27 January 1773. Owing to ill-health, his early life was spent travelling on the continent and studying at the University of Gottingen. During the winter of 1792, when in Rome, he met Lady Augusta Murray, daughter of the 4th Earl of Dunmore and they married in Rome in 1793. The King declared the marriage void and the children from it, Augustus Frederick and Ellen Augusta, took the surname of d'Este, which belonged to common Italian ancestors on both sides.
In 1801, Prince Augustus was created Baron Arklow, Earl of Inverness and Duke of Sussex. He estranged himself from his father and the Court because of his liberal views and his support of progressive political policies, including Catholic emancipation, the abolition of the slave trade and the corn laws. He took a keen interest in the arts and sciences and, in 1816, was elected President of the Society of Arts and, from November 1830-38 was President of the Royal Society. He died on 21 April 1843 and, in accordance with his will, was buried in the public cemetry at Kensal Green. After his death his collection - including silver, pictures, miniatures, sculpture, bronzes and even pipes and tobacco - was sold at Christie's London in a landmark series of sales between June and July 1843.
The technique of electro-metallurgy was patented by Messrs. Elkington and Co. around 1840, although the technique had been in existence for non-industrial production well before that. In view of the Duke of Sussex's prominent role at the forefront of scientific development at the Royal Society, it is certainly possible that this centrepiece, in what appears to be a zinc alloy, may be an early example of the new technique. Certainly, in the 1843 sale Byng was faced with considerable opposition and the price was extremely high.
THE DUKE OF SUSSEX
Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, 6th son of King George III and Queen Charlotte, was born at Buckingham Palace on 27 January 1773. Owing to ill-health, his early life was spent travelling on the continent and studying at the University of Gottingen. During the winter of 1792, when in Rome, he met Lady Augusta Murray, daughter of the 4th Earl of Dunmore and they married in Rome in 1793. The King declared the marriage void and the children from it, Augustus Frederick and Ellen Augusta, took the surname of d'Este, which belonged to common Italian ancestors on both sides.
In 1801, Prince Augustus was created Baron Arklow, Earl of Inverness and Duke of Sussex. He estranged himself from his father and the Court because of his liberal views and his support of progressive political policies, including Catholic emancipation, the abolition of the slave trade and the corn laws. He took a keen interest in the arts and sciences and, in 1816, was elected President of the Society of Arts and, from November 1830-38 was President of the Royal Society. He died on 21 April 1843 and, in accordance with his will, was buried in the public cemetry at Kensal Green. After his death his collection - including silver, pictures, miniatures, sculpture, bronzes and even pipes and tobacco - was sold at Christie's London in a landmark series of sales between June and July 1843.